bassett



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1..

i N. O. BASSETT.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS.-

Patented Dec. 22, 1885.

MA fl M F inveniar N. PETERS. Pholn Lilhographur, Wnhinglun, D. C

(No Mbdel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. N. O. BASSETT.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS. I No. 332,776. Patented Dec. 22, 1885.

N. PETERS. Phnln-Lrlhagraphar. Washinglon. D. c.

' UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

NORMAN C. BASSETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,776, dated December 22, 1885.

Application filed September 23, 1885.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NORMAN G. Bassnrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Operating Mechanism for Ele- Vators, of which the followingis aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of elevators in which the movement of the car is conro trolled by means ofarope, cable, orrod extending vertically through or adjacent to the car, and connected directly or indirectly to the valve, belt-shifter, or other controlling device; and my invention consists in providing the I 5 car with one or more driving-pulleys operated from the motion of the car or otherwise, and constructed and arranged to be brought to act upon the shifting-rope at the will of the operator in the car, so as to movesaid rope in such manner as to avoid the objections to the ordinary method of shifting its position by hand.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car and part of the guides and shifting-rope, showing rope-operating 2 5 devices. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, looking from the opposite side. Figs. 3 to 6 are vertical side elevations of the car and guides, showing the shifting-rope and modifications of the rope-operating devices;

My improvements may be used in connection with elevators of different constructions and driven by different motors.

In the drawings I have shown part of an ordinary Baldwin water-elevator, O, repre- 3 5 senting a passenger cage or car; P P, the vertical guides; R, the usual shifting-rope ex tending through the cage.

In elevators as ordinarily constructed the shifting-rope or equivalent appliance is con- 0 nected to operate the stopping and starting valve, belt-shifter, or other controlling device, and is pulled downward or upward by the attendant to start or stop the car.

It is comparatively easy in elevators properly constructed to exert the downward pull to start the car; but considerable skill is required to properly pull up the rope to stop the car, from the fact that the rope is stationary, while the car moves at varying speeds. Thus,

if the operator grasps the rope firmly to carry it upward as fast as the car is moving at or- Serial No. 177,914. (No model.)

dinary speed, the controlling valve or device is closed too quickly. and the car is stopped so suddenly as to strain the 'suspensories and other parts and cause a disagreeable sensation to the passengers. To avoid this the operator does not usually grasp the rope firmly, but allows it to slip through his hand to a certain extent, thus operating the controlling-valve more gradually. It is very difficult to prop- 6o erly estimate the amount of slip required, especially when the car is traveling at a high speed, and the most skillful operators frequently stop the cars with sudden shocks, or stop them beyond or short ofthe proper point, thus causing delay and annoyance to passengers.

When the car is running at a moderate speed and the operator wishes to go faster, it is nec essary to give the rope a quick pull to further adjust the controlling device, the result frequently being that the latter is not moved far enough, requiring another pull, or it is moved too much and has to be readjusted, in either case shocks being imparted to the car. To avoid these objections I provide the car with one or more driving wheels, arranged to be brought into action on the shifting-rope at the will of the operator within the car, to thereby change the position of the controllingvalve or other device with a positive movement at a predetermined rate of speed. To effect this I provide means for throwing the driving wheel or wheels into and out of operative connection with the shifting-rope, and I 8 5 impart to said wheels a positive motion by any suitable motor appliance. Thus in some instances I use a flexible track consisting of a stationary rope or cable, D, fixed at the upper end to an eyebolt, a, at the top of the well,

and secured at the lower end to a tightening deviceas a weight, W'or to a spring, or to a weight provided with self-acting catches, Fig. 4, like those shown in connection with the cable-tightening weight in my application 5 for Letters Patent, Serial N 0. 158,462. The

cable D extends verticallyin the well, though, as shown, it is outside of the car, and passes round or against one or more wheels or pulleys carried by the car, in such manner. as IOO to impart motion thereto as the car carries such pulley or pulleys along the cable, the

movement of said pulley or pulleys being transmitted at the will of the operator to the shifting-rope, to actuate the same. The said pulleys and connections whereby the movements thereof are imparted to the shifting-cable may be differently arranged, and many different plans will occur to any skilled mechanic.

In-Figs. l and 2 the cable D passes below a grooved pulley, S and upward and over asecond grooved pulley, S of about half the diameter of the pulley S, the pulley S being secured to a shaft, S, extending through a bearing on the car into the latter, and carrying a grooved wheel, S, at the inner end, and the pulley S being secured to a shaft, S, also extending through a bearing into the car, and carrying at the inner end a wheel, S of about half the diameter of the pulley S, the pulley S being about equal in diameter to the wheel S. The wheels S S are grooved, and are arranged so that their peripheries will nearly touch the shifting-rope R, and on the opposite side of the latter is a hand-lever, L, pivoted at a point, x, on a line extending horizontally between the wheels S S to a bearing, B and carrying two grooved friction-wheels, L L arranged opposite the wheels S S As the car rises the pulleys S S travel on the flexible track or cable D and are revolved in the direction of their arrows, the smaller pulley revolving at the highest speed. So long as the lever L is vertical the revolution of the pulleys produces no effect; but if the lever is carried to either side to bring either of the wheels L L against the shifting-rope and in contact with one of the revolving wheels S or S", the latter will grip the rope frictionally and pull it downward at the speed at which the periphery of the wheel is moving. When the car is at rest and the operator desires to ascend, he pulls the shifting-rope downward until the car is started. If he then wishes to increase the speed, he throws thelever L to the left, Fig. 2, (to the rightin Fig. 1,) causing the shifting-rope to be gripped between the driving-wheel S and friction-wheel L, the rapid revolution of the wheel S carrying downward the shifting-rope. This downward motion of the shifting-ropeis the resultant of two motions first, the revolution of the driving-wheel S, and, second, the motion of the car upward. The speed at which the shifting-rope is moved down depends on the speed of the car and the relative diameters of the wheel S and pulleyS and it will be evident that these can be so proportioned as to give any speed of movement desired to the shifting-rope, and consequently to the controlling valve or device.

When the car is to be stopped, the operator throws the lever in the reverse direction, to grip the shifting-rope against the smaller driving-wheel S, which while it travels on the rope has a peripheral speed less than that at which the car rises, so that the shifting-rope iscarried upward, but at a speed equal to that of the rising car, less that of the downward travel of the periphery of the wheel S In this case, also, the motion of the rope is the resultant of the two actions of the wheel and car. When the parts are proportioned as shown, the rope will be carried upward at onehalf the upward speed of the car. To descend, the rope is pulled upward by hand, as usual, and an increased speed is secured by throwing the lever L to grip the rope between the wheels S and L, when the rope will be raised to secure an increased rate of motion, while the car is arrested by gripping the rope between the wheels S L when the rope will be carried downward, but at a speed one-half that at which the car is traveling. If at any time it is requisite or desirable for the operator to directly move the controlling device by meansof the shifting-rope, the'lever L is brought to a vertical position and the rope is operated by hand, as usual. It will thus be seen that the shifting-rope is automatically' and positively moved from the car at determined speeds varying from that of the car, and controlled by the operator, andthat thereby the objections incident to the direct movement of the shifting-rope by the operator are avoided.

It will be evident that a cable, chain, or red may be used in place of the rope, and that the driving-wheels may be rotated by engaging'with' bars or racks in the sides of the well, as shown in Fig. 6, or otherwise-as, for instance, by means of a water-motor, M, Fig. 7, arranged within the car and driven by water from an elevated reservoir or tank, conve'ye'd' to and from the motor by flexible pipes Any suitable shifting and gripping device may be substituted for the lever L. It will also be evident that the driving-wheels may be put into and out of operation by shifting the pulleys into and out of contact with the cable or track D.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modification, in which the driving-rope D is bent only whenit isused,- to avoid rapid wear from constant bending". In this case the pulley S and wheel S revolve independently on a spindle carried by the lever L, and the pulley S and wheel S are fast to the same shaft. When the lever is thrownto the right, the pulley S and wheel Sforc'e' the ropes R D against S and S and the'shi'ft' ing-rope is carried along in such a manner as to" stop the car. In this case the speed is in- ICO creased by pulling on the shifting-rope by hand".

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a construction whereby the valve can be closed onlyby'the driving mechanism. The driving-rope D Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown, I c1aim- 1. The combination of an elevator-car, shifting-rope, rope-actuating device carried by the car,and appliances, substantially as described, whereby the operator can at will put said device into operative connection with the rope.

2. The combination, with the car and shifting-rope of an elevator, of a driving-wheel on the car, the periphery of which moves at a different speed from that of the car, and means, substantially as described, for bringing the shifting-rope into frictional contact with said wheel, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the car, shiftingrope, and controlling device of an elevator, of a driving-wheel deriving its motion from that of the car, and appliances, substantially as described, for bringing said wheel into operative connection with the shifting-rope at the will of the operator in the car, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the car and shiftingrope of an elevator, and two driving-wheels carried by the car and running at different speeds, and means, substantially as described, for bringing the shifting-rope into frictional contact with either wheel at the pleasure of the operator, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the car, one or more driving-wheels, shifting-rope, and devices for clamping the rope temporarily against said wheel or wheels, whereby the latter is caused to move the rope at a speed varying from that of the car, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the car, shifting-r0pe, one or more pulleys carried by the car, and a stationary track in frictional contact with the saidpulleys, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the car, shifting-rope, driving-wheel for operating said rope, and pulley connected to operate said Wheel and arranged to bear upon a vertical track within the well, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the car, shifting-rope, wheel, and pulley, and a flexible track hanging vertically in the well and in frictional contact with the pulley, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the car, shifting-rope, wheel, pulley, flexible track, and track-tightening device, substantially as described.

10. The combination of the car, shiftingrope, rope-driving wheel arranged adjacent to said rope, and lever carrying a wheel arranged on the opposite side of the rope, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. The combination of the car, shiftingrope, driving-wheels of different diameters opposite one side of the rope, and lever carrying pulleys arranged opposite the other side of the rope, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NORMAN O. BASSETT.

Witnesses:

A. S. W001), H. L. OHAFFEE. 

